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Monday, October 25, 2010

Book Review: KISS ME DEADLY: 13 TALES OF PARANORMAL LOVE

KISS ME DEADLY: 13 TALES OF PARANORMAL LOVE
Reading level:
Young Adult
Paperback:
432 pages
Publisher:
Running Press Kids (August 3, 2010)
Language:
English
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound

If you can possibly thirst for more mysterious metaphysical accounts of love, Trisha Telep has organized some of the greatest and most thrilling tales of paranormal paramours since The Eternal Kiss. She presents the acclaimed literary talent of thirteen unique authors, creating a collection of stories that will undoubtedly capture the imagination of every soul who dares to read them. Werewolves, ghosts, zombies, vampires, and fallen angels drive the plot of these riveting romances.
Kiss Me Deadly includes the exceptional writings of several authors, including:
Sarah Rees Brennan (faeries)
Becca Fitzpatrick (angels)
Caitlin Kittredge (witches)
Karen Mahoney (vampires: sequel to story from The Eternal Kiss)
Daniel Marks (ghost kids)
Justine Musk (sorcerers)
Diana Peterfreund (unicorns)
Michelle Rowen (demons)
Carrie Ryan (zombies)
Maggie Stiefvater (werewolves)
Rachel Vincent (banshees)
Daniel Waters (zombies)
Michelle Zink (gothic ghosts)

For readers with a love of paranormal romance, KISS ME DEADLY, offers something sure to please.  There is a wide diversity of different paranormal creatures to sample from. Whether its killer unicorns, fallen angels, djinns, faeries or ghosts, those are just a few of the entities you can look forward to spending time with.  All stories hold the promise of something new, dangerous and more than a little deadly. 

Fans of popular Young Adult series will be thrilled to learn that many of the short stories  relate to existing works of authors such as Carrie Ryan, Becca Fitzpatrick and Rachel Vincent. If you are a fan of anthologies such as THE ETERNAL KISS: 13 TALES OF BLOOD AND DESIRE, this is a collection of short stories I think you will enjoy. While THE ETERNAL KISS was definitely superior in my mind, this was a solid offering of paranormal romance that I definitely enjoyed escaping into. 

Like any anthology, some stories were more unforgettable than others. Here's a rundown of the ones that stood out to me the most and a little teaser as to what you can look forward to--

THE ASSASIN'S APPRENTICE by Michelle Zink was by far my favorite story. The Assasin's Apprentice centers around Rose, a young woman dealing with the loss of losing her family to the wrath of a demon. At the beginning of the story, Rose had nothing left to live for except vengeance, that is, until she met a demon slaying Assassin named Asher. Things quickly heated up and when it was over, I found myself wishing there was more.  This was an enchanting tale of revenge and love tangled together. I would eagerly gobble up any books that happened to evolve out of this into a full length-series.  

"My fingers found the hilt of my Blade without looking, and I had a flash of Father, standing near me as I assumed the ready position. I could still feel his hand on my shoulder, steadying my arm as I focused on the targets across the field in the distance. 

Hit your mark, Rose. Hit your mark. "- Page 9

 FEARLESS by Rachel Vincent involves a parasitic empath called a "Mara", something w hich I have never encountered before. For fans of Rachel's Soul Screamers series, you'll be delighted to know Nash makes an appearance in this one. 

"But she wouldn't wake up while I was touching her. No one ever had. I was part sedative, part leech, and all bad dream—literally. And I wouldn't even have known that much, if not for Nash's mother. " Page 296

HARE MOON by Carrie Ryan. If you are a fan of The Forest of Hands and Teeth and Dead-Tossed Waves, you have to read this. This was a real delight because the reader gets to go back in time and uncover Sister Tabitha's past. Contrary to what you might think, Tabitha wasn't always such a formidable, unforgiving presence. Her story was one of unfulfilled dreams and forbidden love. As always, Carrie Ryan wrote a beautiful, heart-breaking story that I couldn't help get swept away in. 

"Sometimes she closes her eyes and wonders what it would be like to walk through the gate and run away with him. And sometimes she imagines bringing him home with her and claiming him as hers." – Page 225

FAMILIAR by Michelle Rowen was a fast, fun look into the life of Brenda, a witch-in-training who gets more than she bargained for when she purchases a kitten to take on as her familiar (animal used to enhance magic). Turns out, Owen was not the average cat, or really a cat at all. As Brenda's fate intertwines with Owen's, the two take on some intimidating werewolves in this sweet, romantic story of love on-the-run. 

"No, wait! Stop, just stop. Just change form again." 

"Back to my kitten? Or the tiger? Or I can be a full-sized regular cat—that's the best for staying incognito. Perhaps a Puma would be fun, though. Or a leopard. Choose your kitty-cat Brenda." – Page 257

DUNGEONS OF LANGEAIS by Becca Fitzpatrick was a short story going back 300 years into the early feuds of Patch from Hush, Hush and the ever suffering Chauncey. I enjoyed how Fitzpatrick expanded on Chauncey's character and gave us a taste of what his life was really like. Though arrogant, self-serving and exceedingly stubborn, Chauncey definitely had a whole lot of guts to stand up to Patch and I enjoyed the way he plotted and schemed to get the best of Patch. Fans of the series will get a thrill out of this one.

"The angel had deceived him, tortured him, blinded him, taken away his will to speak for himself. Chauncey had given his oath to end a phantom pain. A few spoken words that had proved to be his undoing. Lord, I become your man." – Page 160

THE SPY WHO NEVER GREW UP by Sarah Rees Brennan. This was a very imaginative take on Peter Pan and a rip, roaring good time to boot.  Sarah Rees Brennan is one of my favorite authors and never ceases to entertain me. Though not romantic in any way, shape or form (at least to me), I loved reading about Peter Pan becoming a secret spy for the Queen of England. Ashley, one of Wendy's ancestors, was a fantastic counterpart in crime for Peter. Ashley really made this story come alive and I got a real kick out of it.  

"Knowing Peter, the next time he came might be many years late. He might be coming for her daughter. In which case, Ashley was not going to bother with the pepper spray. She was going to make her child sleep with a Taser. – Page 155


6 comments:

YA Book Queen said...

Awesome review! I love the sound of Michelle Zink's and Carrie Ryan's stories. I'll have to check this one out! =)

Anonymous said...

This sounds interesting. I don't usually read short stories because I like to really get into my characters and their lives and challenges. Maybe that's why I rarely write short stories. But I can see that this is a good way to get to taste writers whose work you might not be familiar with.

Anonymous said...

This sounds interesting. I don't usually read short stories because I like to really get into my characters and their lives and challenges. Maybe that's why I rarely write short stories. But I can see that this is a good way to get to taste writers whose work you might not be familiar with.

Tales of Whimsy said...

I must try this one! :D Great post!

Audra said...

I just finished this one -- my review is coming tomorrow. 'The Spy Who Never Grew Up' was *so* twisted!! I was a little annoyed at first to discover so many of the stories were set among pre-existing novel-based series, but each was so well written that I enjoyed them w/o having read the books (like Fitzgerald's story, or Peterfreund's).

Debbie's World of Books said...

I recently reviewed this book too. I enjoyed a lot of the stories but interestingly the Michelle Zink story was my least favorite.